Experience of Insomnia in Oncology

R Kaul, R Sharma, M Bansal, BK Mohanti
Department of Radiotherapy, Institute of Rotary Cancer Hospital,
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

Abstract

The definition of insomnia has changed during the past decade to include the perception of the patient and the effects of sleep disturbance on daytime functioning. Insomnia is essentially a complaint of sleep being difficult to initiate or maintain, or non-refreshing or non-restorative. Physicians are now confronted with an increase in the number of issues regarding insomnia. The chronicity of the condition and the heterogeneity of underlying causes have made insomnia a demanding therapeutic challenge. In this study, 2500 cancer patients attending the radiotherapy outpatients department and various tumour clinics were evaluated. Approximately 1500 patients had insomnia, either due to medical, psychiatric, or physiological problems or of an idiopathic nature. The study suggests that insomnia is a chronic phenomenon and further research is required.

Key words: Insomnia, Oncology